FOREIGN FIGHTERS: Former hostage Lordvin Acopio said he saw at least 11 foreign fighters in the battle zone. Photo by Carmela Fonbuena/Rappler

MARAWI CITY, Philippines – A former hostage of the Maute Group in Marawi confirmed the presence of foreign fighters in the Marawi war zone.

Lordvin Acopio, a teacher at Dansalan College, said he saw at least 11 foreign fighters while he was a hostage inside the battle area. He said the foreign fighters trained him to attend to wounded fighters, but sometimes he also served as interpreter to the foreigners.

Acopio said he met 7 Indonesians, 3 Malaysians, and one Arab. The Indonesians and Malaysian looked like Filipinos and he didn't know they were foreigners until he personally met them.

He said the Indonesians were mostly bombers while the Malaysians and the Arab were fighters in the frontline.

Local terror groups Maute and Abu Sayyaf attacked Marawi on May 23 in a bid to gain territory to establish a caliphate.

The leaders of both groups have pledged allegiance to international terrorist network Islamic State.

The military previously said at least 8 foreign fighters were killed in the early days of the war. It said Malaysian Mahoud Ahmad was also among the leaders and financiers of the attack. – Rappler.com

EMBATTLED. UST Law Dean Nilo Divina faces a disbarment complaint, the latest of his legal battles related to Patricia Bautista's exposé of the alleged unexplained wealth of Comelec Chairman Andres Bautista, a close friend. Photo by Angie de Silva/Rappler

Divina is the managing partner of the Divina Law Firm, which Patricia accused of paying commissions to her husband. These commissions make up the P1-billion worth of Bautista's alleged unexplained wealth that Patricia has exposed.

Divina is also the dean of the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Faculty of Civil Law, embroiled in the recent controversy of the death of freshman student Horacio Castillo III. The law student allegedly died during the hazing rites of Aegis Juris Fraternity, of which Divina is also an alumnus.

–– ADVERTISEMENT ––

Included in Patricia's disbarment complaint are 20 other lawyers from the Divina Law Firm:

Alfonso Verzosa

Estrella Elamparo

Alden Francis Gonzales

John Michael Galauran

Jessie Matibag

Isaiah Asuncion III

Camille Khristine Aromas

Ismael Sarangaya Jr

Jay-r Ipac

Janna Mae Tecson

Lourdes Anifel Caspe

Paula Danica Landayan

Ian Jerny De Leon

Rchel Marie Felices

Ciselie Marie Gamo-Sisayan

Jemimah Grace Garcia

Anna Katrina Singcol

Rhegine Peralta

Benito Cataran

Dara Acusar

Bautista also asked the SC to consider dissolving the entire law firm.

Divina said he is "not worried at all about any threat of disbarment." Divina added that Patricia is "probably sour that their impeachment complaint against Chairman Bautista was dismissed."

"I have always acted in accordance with law and the ethical demands of the law profession. I am not worried at all about any threat of disbarment. I have not read the complaint. We will respond accordingly," Divina said in a text message to reporters.

Referral fees

Patricia went to the SC on Tuesday with her legal spokesperson Lorna Kapunan.

"They involve clients whose names we’ll later mention, but already we would like to mention that one of their clients is Smartmatic," Kapunan said.

She added: "Sabi niya he received them earlier (he said he received them earlier), not when he was Comelec commissioner but we have documents to show that he received them close to the elections, and we also have cancelled checks paid by Divina Law not only to Bautista but to his sister Susan, to the mother and father."

"We are doing what we said we would which is to use other venues in which these documents could come to light," Patricia said.

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), Office of the Ombudsman, and even the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) are conducting separate investigations into Patricia's allegations.

Divina is among Bautista's best friends and a godfather to their eldest son Xavier.

“It would, thus, appear that Andy secured the services of Divina Law, Nilo’s law firm, in order to profit from his position in the Comelec,” Patricia earlier said in her affidavit.

Bautista had already denied that the Divina Law Firm has clients related to Comelec.

The exposé is being linked to possible fraud in the 2016 elections because Patricia also claimed there were red flags in almost daily deposits not higher than P500,000 into Bautista's bank accounts in 2016. The Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) is already investigating the bank deposits. – Rappler.com

MARAWI BRIDGES. The Agus River separates the safe zone and the battle zone. Screen shot of a drone video by the Provincial Crisis Management Committee

MARAWI CITY, Philippines – The Philippine military is poised to control all critical bridges in the battle area in Marawi City, as it begins to occupy buildings located past the eastern mouth of Masiu Bridge in the lakeside village Raya Madaya.

The marines have hoisted the Philippine flag on one of the buildings around the corner of Agus River and Lake Lanao, based on images that circulated on Friday, September 22.

This means troops now occupy both ends of Masiu Bridge. It was a combination of ground assault and air strikes, according to a source on the ground.

Fighting continues in the area, and the bridge remains unpassable due to enemy snipers who still have a clear view of the bridge. The local terror groups have rocket-propelled grenades that can pierce through the military's armor vehicles. It's a sign that enemy space has significantly shrunk since clashes erupted on May 23. Ground troops have contained them on land while the navy and the maritime police swarm the lake to make sure enemies don't use it as exit point.

The war marked its 4th month on Saturday, September 23. At least 887 have died including 151 soldiers, 689 enemies, and 47 civilians.

The Masiu Bridge is the last of 3 critical bridges that the fighters of the Maute Group and Abu Sayyaf Group immediately occupied in the beginning of the war to allow them to control the city's commercial district, Banggolo.

Locals often refer to the bridge "Raya Madaya Bridge" because it goes right into the lakeside village from the highway.

For months the 3 bridges on Agus River – Baloi Bridge, Bayabao Bridge, and Masiu Bridge – separated the battle area from the military-controlled "safe-zone."

Troops regained control of Baloi Bridge on July 20 and Bayabao Bridge on September 1.

Deeper in the battle area, troops are also gaining ground. Task Group deputy commander Colonel Romeo Brawner said they continue to advance in the area of Bato Mosque, where hostages were previously kept.

High-profile hostage Father Chito Soganub, a Catholic priest, was able to escape last week when troops pushed to control the mosque.

Brawner said the fighting is now in tighter areas, making it more difficult to advance. It gets harder to soften the ground with air strikes because troops are too close to the enemies.

The military said it is still dealing with about 50 fighters who are holding up to 60 hostages.

Brawner said the enemies are taking advantage of the ratholes and trenches they dug inside the battle, allowing them to escape military bombardment. – Rappler.com

HAZING CASE. A suspect in the killing of UST law freshman Horacio Castillo III has reportedly left the country.

MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) – Taiwanese authorities said on Friday, September 22, that one of the 3 suspects in the killing University of Santo Tomas (UST) law student Horacio Castillo III "did not enter Taiwan," contrary to earlier reports.

Ralph Cabales Trangia, a suspect in Castillo's death and an officer of UST's Aegis Juris fraternity, was a transit passenger, and "went to Chicago, USA via Taoyuan International Airport by BR56 on September 19, 2017," according to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) in the Philippines.

In a statement Friday evening,TECO said Trangia "was only one of the millions of transit passengers who had passed through Taiwan's busy airport and departed for North America."

"At this point in time, TECO does not know Mr Trangia's current whereabouts," Taiwan said.

Philippine immigration records earlier showed that Trangia left Manila for Taipei on Tuesday, September 19, on Eva Air Flight BR262.

Trangia left the Philippines a day before he and his father, Antonio Trangia, were named by the Manila Police District as suspects in the death Castillo, who allegedly died due to hazing by the Aegis Juris Fraternity.

Solano was the one who brought Castillo to the Chinese General Hospital after fraternity brothers involved in the hazing contacted him. Ralph Cabales Trangia drove the two to the hospital on a red Strada pickup. The vehicle was registered in the name of Antonio Trangia. – Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) condemned the killing of University Santo Tomas (UST) freshman law student Horacio Castillo III due to alleged hazing by the Aegis Juris fraternity.

CHED chairperson Patricia Licuanan made the statement when Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri asked for CHED's stand is on the controversial death during the agency's budget hearing at the Senate on Thursday, September 21. (READ: Senate to probe UST law student's death due to hazing)

Fraternity officers found guilty of provoking violence will be suspended for 60 days. The CHED order also imposes a one-year suspension on a fraternity found to be guilty, and a permanent ban after the next offense.

“We have asked our regional office, the NCR (National Capital Region) regional office, to look into this very tragic event,” said Licuanan.

She added UST is yet to officially file a report to CHED, “but we should be expecting that soon.”

A good Samaritan supposedly found Castillo covered by a blanket on a pavement in Tondo, Manila, on September 17, and brought him to the hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV is hoping that Filipinos have now become enlightened that the presidential candidate they picked in last year’s polls has been fooling them since the 2016 campaign period.

[He was really shamed, he was caught lying and inventing a story. Now, I hope that our fellow Filipinos will already be enlightened. You were already being fooled even during the campaign period. Even up to now. It’s up to you if you want to be fooled continuously.]

The senator issued the statement a day after proving that he had no secret bank accounts in Singapore. Also on Tuesday, during a television interview, Duterte admitted that he “invented” at least one bank account number that he had attributed to Trillanes.

Isolated case, unorthodox style

Meanwhile, Malacañang defended Duterte on Wednesday.

Presidential spokesperson Ernesto Abella said the President’s admission that he had invented one of the bank account numbers was an “isolated case.”

“(H)e intentionally did that. But of course, first and foremost, he comes out in the open. He does not hide it, rightly so, in other words, he’s quite transparent about his actions,” said Abella.

Abella reminded the public that every politician has his own style of handling issues and that Duterte’s method was unconventional.

“May kanya-kanya pong style. As we very well know, the President is quite unorthodox, and rather out of the box when he deals…Unorthodox as it may seem, on the whole, apparently, the impact of his actions tend to be economically viable,” he said.

Militant activists gather at the foot of Mendiola bridge in Manila Tuesday night, September 19, 2017 as KADAMAY kicked of its camp out protest against the entirety of what they call Duterte’s War on the Poor. INQUIRER PHOTO / GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE“Remember the 21st of September,” the militant coalition Movement Against Tyranny (MAT) says as Filipinos march across the country on Thursday to mark the 45th anniversary of the declaration of martial law by the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos and make known that they oppose the increasingly authoritarian rule of President Rodrigo Duterte.

Mr. Duterte has declared Thursday National Day of Protest to allow the people to express their frustration at the “excesses and shortcomings of the government.”He has allowed protests to be held without permits, but ordered police to maintain order.The Armed Forces of the Philippines issued a statement late on Wednesday saying it was “duty-bound to protect” the “inherent right of the people to peaceful assembly.”‘End Tyranny’The “End Tyranny” rally at Rizal Park called by MAT is among several protests across the country on Thursday and the first massive movement opposing Mr. Duterte, who is unused to dissent after ruling Davao City as mayor with an iron fist for 22 years.Mr. Duterte has placed Mindanao under martial law to break a terrorist siege of Marawi City and he has repeatedly threatened to put the entire country under military rule if opposition to his signature program, stamping out narcotics, turns violent.Police have reported killing more than 3,800 people since Mr. Duterte launched his war on drugs after taking office in June last year, and unknown assailants have killed thousands more, sparking global concern over violation of human rights in the Philippines and warnings to Philippine officials about a possible crime against humanity.At first, Filipinos supported Mr. Duterte’s war on drugs, but in recent weeks, teenagers have been the victims of police killings, causing widespread public anger.Families of the campaign’s victims will be among the marchers on Thursday and police are watching two spots in Manila where the protesters and Mr. Duterte’s supporters are gathering.In a press briefing on Tuesday, Director Oscar Albayalde, chief of the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO), said up to 10,000 protesters from various groups were expected to turn up at Rizal Park in Manila for the “End Tyranny” rally.

Atillano uses Facebook and Instagram as well as other websites to sell his products, Aquino said in a press conference yesterday.

Atillano is said to be a major distributor of illegal drugs in Metro Manila, Baguio City, Cebu and Boracay island.

“Most of his customers are young professionals and affluent persons,” said Aquino, adding they are not discounting the possibility that celebrities and public figures could be among Atillano’s clients.

Atillano admitted to selling illegal drugs in the past but claimed he stopped when President Duterte assumed his post last year. He denied owning the illegal drugs reported to have been found in his condominium unit.

PDEA agents, armed with a search warrant, raided Atillano’s unit at GA Towers in Barangay Malamig at around 5 a.m.

They seized 500 tablets of the party drug ecstasy, with a street value of P1 million; 50 grams of shabu, with a street value of P350,000; 83 tablets of nitrazepam, an anti-anxiety drug, with a street value of P5,810; and 12 tablets of diazepam, another anti-anxiety drug, priced at P200 each; and assorted drug paraphernalia.

To avoid detection, Atillano transfers to another condominium building every six months, Aquino said.

Alleged dealers like Atillano also use drivers of transport network companies like Grab to deliver drugs to their customers. This way, law enforcement authorities have difficulty in tracking their locations, according to Aquino.

1 dead, 11 arrested

In other parts of Metro Manila, a drug suspect was killed and 11 others were arrested.

Valerio Villaflor, 48, reported to be a high-value target, was shot dead by unidentified motorcycle-riding assailants along Manuel Quezon street in Barangay Cupang, Muntinlupa City at around 2 a.m. yesterday.

In Quezon City, three minors were caught using marijuana in Barangay Marilag, and four alleged dealers were caught in separate stings in Barangay Tatalon.

Two of the alleged dealers were identified as Janrei Gallardo, 27, and Danilo Cullera, 53.

Close friends, classmates, fellow law students, and other students of the University of Santo Tomas offer their prayers and sentiments through lighted candles at the Civil Law lobby of UST for Horacio Castillo III.(ALVIN KASIBAN / MANILA BULLETIN)

Solano was initially considered a witness after reportedly discovering Castillo’s body wrapped in a blanket in Balut, Tondo in Manila, but barangay officials disputed his claims.

“It was found out that Solano deliberately and intentionally gave false statements to the MPD in the course of this investigation,” Coronel said. “He claimed he only found the body of the victim in the early hours of Sept. 17 and brought him to the hospital when in fact, Solano knew the victim even before the death of Castillo.”

Solano, Coronel said, has been confirmed to be a law student of UST and a member of the Aegis Juris fraternity.

Coronel presented to the media a closed circuit television (CCTV) footage showing Solano with Castillo and other alleged fraternity brothers walking along Dapitan Street in UST around 11:45 a.m. on Saturday, a day before the victim was declared dead on arrival at Chinese General Hospital.

Castillo told his parents that he would attend an overnight fraternity welcome party and would be home by Sunday morning. He was however found by his family at a funeral home with hematoma and candle drips before dawn Monday.

Police also showed the media the photo of Solano when he gave his initial testimony to MPD and a photo of him wearing Aegis Juris fraternity shirt.

The red vehicle with plate number ZTV 539 which initial reports said brought Castillo to the hospital, meanwhile, has been found to be registered under one Antonio Trangia, father of Ralph, an Aegis Juris official.

Coronel however said that it was not clear who was driving the vehicle at the time of the incident.

“Solano, with the assistance and cooperation of the Trangias deliberately misled our investigation by providing us false and fraudulent statements, which we feel was a cover up for the actual killing and murder of Castillo, which is why they are now considered suspects,” Coronel said.

Coronel added that all the eight officials of the Aegis Juris fraternity enrolled this semester are also considered suspects.

Davao City Mayor Sara DuterteDismissing claims that he amassed ill-gotten wealth, President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday night said he had only around P500,000 in a bank account that he shared with one of his children.The President said he had a bank account with his daughter, Davao City Mayor Sara “Inday” Duterte, as his codepositor, but it contained money that was less than the P200 million that his critics claimed he was hiding.“I have one with Inday. It’s about P500,000 something,” he told lawyers of the Public Attorney’s Office (PAO) during their convention in the Manila Hotel.

“I have one and my codepositor is my daughter so that, if something happens to me, my family can immediately use it. That is true,” he said.“My salary, my codepositor is Inday because I … I trust her. I have little with my (sons) because they only know how to have a good time,” he added in jest.AMLC challengeMr. Duterte said he had challenged the previous Aquino administration and the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) to look into accounts to find out if he had ill-gotten wealth.“You look at the bank … during their time—the time of (former Interior Secretary) Mar (Roxas)—I said, ‘Look at it. You have control of everything and machinery,” he said.“You AMLC who are listening right now, if I’m a money launderer, why don’t you file a case against me?” he added.Mr. Duterte said he signed a bank waiver before but his critics “did not use it.”Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV has challenged the President to sign a new waiver to open all of his bank accounts.

“(He’s) saying I should sign again … Are you making a fool of me? Lucky you. Open everything, including the rural bank. If you see P200 million and confirm it that Duterte has it, I will step down tomorrow,” the President said.

More...

Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV —INQUIRER FILE PHOTOSen. Antonio Trillanes IV said on Tuesday he had proven that he had no bank accounts in Singapore after visiting the city-state, debunking claims of President Rodrigo Duterte.Trillanes went to Singapore to visit two banks and to inquire whether there were accounts under his name in the DBS Bank Alexandra branch and the Hongkong Shanghai Bank Raffles branch.On Tuesday night, Mr. Duterte said Trillanes used the “wrong” bank account number when he checked with DBS Bank in Singapore.

He said the senator used the incorrect account No. 1780-00296-01-2 when the actual account No. was 1178-000281-60-2.The President said he deliberately gave the wrong account number that Trillanes used to “trick” him.“He used the wrong one, (which lacked) some numbers I had really removed. That was what came out. (So, the bank said) there was no such account,” Mr. Duterte said in a live interview with broadcaster Erwin Tulfo on government-run PTV 4.“He used the fake one. I just thought that I should remove some of the numbers so that I could catch him. I invented it,” the President said.He said the correct bank account number came from a foreign government that was “angry” with Trillanes.Responding to Mr. Duterte’s remarks, Trillanes said: “It’s a good thing he admitted he was a liar. To begin with, he won based on propaganda and lies. I hope people would now realize that they were fooled and continue to be fooled by Duterte.”Based on documents provided in the blogs of Tulfo, Assistant Press Secretary Mocha Uson and the Davao Breaking News website, Trillanes was supposed to have 12 offshore bank accounts, two of which were in Singapore.At DBS, Trillanes was supposed to have S$193,850 as of Aug. 17, and at the Hongkong Shanghai Bank, S$278,300 as of Aug. 30.

But the senator, in a statement, said bank officials in DBS told him that he had no bank account with them.“No such bank accounts exist,” Trillanes quoted the bank teller as telling him when he showed his passport and two bank accounts that Uson and the others had claimed he owned.This was the same answer given to him by the teller when Trillanes inquired whether there were bank accounts under the names of Antonio F. Trillanes IV or Antonio F. Trillanes “either existing or closed accounts, and whether single or joint accounts in the bank.”The senator said he and a media group that covered his Singapore trip found no Hongkong Shanghai Bank Raffles branch in Singapore.So they went to HSBC (formerly Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corp.) in Raffles City Tower but did not find it.He also checked whether there was an HSBC branch on Raffles Boulevard but just found an automated teller machine there.“A quick check at the HSBC Singapore website showed there is no HSBC Raffles branch,” Trillanes said.Trillanes said it was clear the President was lying and that the latter just made up the story that he had secret offshore bank accounts.On Friday, the President, in discussing Trillanes’ supposed account at the DBS bank in Singapore, mentioned that it had been closed, along with another supposed account in Zurich.“Our providers suggested that before closing his Zurich bank account and Singapore bank account—since all of these accounts are single accounts without codepositor—additionally the information that we provided has existing slips as evidence of these two accounts and were acknowledged to be in existence,” Mr. Duterte said on PTV 4.Mr. Duterte came out with the allegation after the senator, his vocal critic since the 2016 election campaign, alleged that his son, Davao City Vice Mayor Paolo Duterte, belonged to a Chinese drug triad and supposedly had millions of pesos in his bank account.During the campaign, Trillanes also claimed that Mr. Duterte had P2 billion in bank transactions.Trillanes said the President made up the story that he had secret offshore bank accounts to destroy him for being his critic.The senator said the President also wanted to divert attention from his son’s alleged involvement in the illegal drug shipment at the Bureau of Customs smuggling and to his “accusation that he has billions of pesos in deposits in his Bank of Philippines accounts.”“Mr. President, you’re checkmate. Don’t try to make excuses. Just sign a (bank) waiver so that your loyalists would realize how corrupt you are,” Trillanes said.The senator has signed waivers allowing the Office of the Ombudsman and the Anti-Money Laundering Council to look into the offshore bank accounts that he allegedly owns. —Reports from Christine O. Avendaño, Leila B. Salaverria, and Philip C. Tubeza

BARRED. ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights delegates were barred from visiting detained Senator Leila de Lima. Photo from the Office of Senator Leila de Lima

MANILA, Philippines – Members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) were barred from visiting detained Senator Leila de Lima despite having complied with the 10-day visit notice.

Tian Chua and Charles Santiago, APHR delegates from the Malaysian Parliament, expressed disappointment over what happened.

Chua and Santiago, along with fellow APHR members Ifugao Representative Teddy Baguilat Jr and Akbayan Representative Tom Villarin, waited outside the Philippine National Police (PNP) Custodial Center in Camp Crame for an hour but to no avail.

"I and my colleagues are very disappointed that our entry was not granted despite us giving an ample notice before the visit," Chua said.

"Seeking an appointment with a fellow legislator who has now been incarcerated and is in detention is something that we want to do, and not allowing us to visit her actually further affirms our beliefs that she is unjustifiably detained, otherwise the government doesn't have to worry about this," Santiago said.

"Our intention was to come here to express our solidarity with her, and as a fellow legislator in another ASEAN country, we believe that she's innocent and her persecution is part of the intimidation campaign against her, which violates her rights as a legislator," Chua also said.

"We believe that if the authorities have nothing to hide, and if the authorities are doing things according to the principle of transparency, then we should not be denied from interacting and paying our visit to show our regards to her," he said.

The delegates submitted their request on September 6, more than the required 10-day notice before visiting the senator. Police present failed to give an exact reason for the delay in the issuance of the permit.

Last July, another foreign visitor was also denied entry. Liberal International (LI) president Juli Minoves was prevented from seeing De Lima due to an "administrative excuse." (READ: EU Parliament approves call to free De Lima) – Rappler.com

(I told the House of Representatives earlier through the Speaker – don't give me the power to appoint. I don't want it. Dive it to someone else.)

This is different from what he conveyed in March. At the time, then Interior Secretary Ismael Sueno said that Duterte wants to handpick OICs in the country's more than 42,000 barangays if the elections are postponed. (READ: Duterte wants to appoint barangay OICs is polls reset)

Last year, the House minority proposed that the appointment of barangay OICs be handled by the Office of the President (OP) in close coordination with the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), local government units (LGUs), the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), and other concerned agencies.

When the barangay and SK polls were postponed in the past, the incumbent officials were placed on holdover or carryover status, or kept their positions until the next elections were held.

On Tuesday, Duterte reiterated that barangay elections, slated to take place on October 23, should again be postponed because he believes "40%" of barangay captains are involved in illegal drugs.

"They will really win, because they have money. You know barangays, you either scare the people or buy them off," said Duterte, who had won the presidency on the promise of eradicating crime, including the illegal drug menace, in the first 6 months of his term.

He added: "If you don't believe me, okay with me, no problem, let's have elections. But if those into drugs are reelected, that's not my problem."

The House version of the bill postponing barangay and youth elections seeks to move the exercise to May 2018. The Senate version proposes moving the polls to October 2018. (READ: Are we postponing barangay and SK elections or not? P500M is at stake)

Both measures seek to replace the incumbents with appointed officials.

Senator Loren Legarda FILE PHOTO / INQUIRER.netThe Senate Committee on Finance on Monday grilled the Department of Education (DepEd) over an unspent budget of P21.5 billion last year as it weighed in on the agency’s capacity to fully spend its proposed P613.1 billion budget for 2018.At the hearing, finance committee chair Sen. Loren Legarda asked the agency to submit a memo listing the programs and infrastructures that were affected when the money was reverted to unappropriated surplus of the government’s general fund and specifying the reasons for incurring such amount.“Before we even talk about giving you a new budget, we want to know why you returned P21.5 billion. Last week, we were very disappointed, saddened by the Department of Transportation returning P11.5 billion. Now we see DepEd returning P21.5 billion,” said Legarda.

Unserved“When we return funds to the Treasury, that means there are people unserved, there are classrooms not rehabilitated, there are books not printed and there are children not helped,” she said.

The DepEd broke down the P21.5 billion as the following: P12 billion for teacher positions; P5 billion for the Government Assistance to Students and Teachers in Private Education (Gastpe); P1.3 billion for the provision and maintenance of basic education facilities, P1 billion for technical-vocational supplies and P3.6 billion for the provision of textbooks and instructional materials.The P21.5 billion were 2015 allocations that were carried over last year.Education Secretary Leonor Briones told the panel that the agency had difficulty keeping up with its backlog in 2015 as it was also catching up with the utilization of its 2016 budget.“Now we are catching up with 2017 and we can only do it in phases,” said Briones, noting that the agency has introduced reforms, restructured its management system and tightened its cooperation with the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to address classroom backlogs.The DepEd also said the DPWH had a remaining balance of P76 billion or 70 percent of the P109 billion in the 2017 budget to be obligated for the construction of classrooms before December 2017. Legarda wondered if it could be done in a span of three months.“If the DepEd is having hard time with the two-year cycle, now it’s a 12-month cycle. I’m really just worried that you may not be able to spend all. So I am asking you to do an internal housekeeping,” said Legarda.